U2 will headline the halftime show for the NFL’s inaugural Thanksgiving Eve game on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the league announced Tuesday. The performance will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and air on Netflix during the matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams.
League expands its Thanksgiving footprint
The game represents the NFL’s first foray into Thanksgiving Eve, a deliberate expansion of the calendar the league has dominated on Thanksgiving Day for decades. The NFL has signaled an intent to cultivate Wednesday nights as another marquee window, using the Nov. 25 matchup to establish the new holiday-evening slot.
Staging the game at SoFi also places the event on a familiar national stage: the venue is already slated to host Super Bowl LXI. The Packers-Rams pairing and the high-profile halftime act underline the league’s push to make Thanksgiving Eve a tentpole event rather than a one-off experiment.
U2’s return to an NFL halftime stage
The headline set marks U2’s return to an NFL halftime stage more than two decades after their Super Bowl XXXVI performance. The band’s involvement gives the debut Thanksgiving Eve show a historic angle, tying a veteran global act to the NFL’s calendar innovation.
The announcement frames the performance as a major entertainment component of the league’s new midweek slate. For Netflix, which will stream the game, securing a veteran act like U2 provides a clear entertainment headline to accompany the football matchup.
Details about the halftime production and set list have not been released. The league’s confirmation establishes the date, location and broadcast platform, while leaving room for further revelation about staging, guest performers or thematic elements as the event approaches.
By pairing a heavyweight musical act with a prime matchup, the NFL is pursuing a familiar playbook: use marquee entertainment to amplify a strategic schedule move. Whether the Thanksgiving Eve window becomes a permanent fixture will depend on audience response and how successfully the league and its broadcast partners build the night into a recurring national destination.
For now, the confirmed elements are clear: U2 will perform at halftime on Nov. 25 at SoFi Stadium during the NFL’s first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game between the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams, with the broadcast airing on Netflix.
